Had a question from awhile ago that I meant to ask. Len mentioned once that he thought Letitia's heels were too high and it was causing her to lean forward. How high should her heels be and shouldn't someone, like Darren, have noticed this if it was true?

heel height is really a matter of preference of the dancer and what they are used to personally I advise pupils not to go any higher than 3"

Well, I have to say guys, I'm loving this thread.

In the thread, you were talking about footwork and putting pressure on the floor. Now, is jumping the same matter? In my experience (ballet grade VI, Morris Dance) people either usually bend their knees and land on their toes, or they only bend their knees slightly and land quite heavily. What is the correct way to land things?

As Leticia was new to ballroom dancing she would probably have found it easier to balance on 2" heels, perhaps of the Cuban (Spanish) style, which are more sturdy and hence more suitable for a heavier person. As lady dancers become more experienced they usually progress to slimline heels but generally the 3" slimline heels are used for latin dances and the shorter heels for ballroom dances where the ladies 'heel turn' is essential. However, it's all down to personal preference but newcomers to dancing should not choose really high heels just because they may look glamorous!

Here's a question that was asked on the BBC SCD dance teacher's thread: which of this year's contestants would you most like to have as a student - and why?

Love to know your answers if you have the time

Sorry to add yet another question but I wanted to know how to spin properly, in particular getting enough rotation when you have one hand being held by the partner. I have just started ballroom/latin and always find I lose balance spinning - would also appreciate explanation of how to "spot" turns. Thanks so much in advance

Hopefully if you have just started dancing the teacher should not be asking you to spin very much. I can only think of the 'American Spin' in the jive where you make 1 complete turn on one 'spin' step. All other occasions you should be stepping through the turns. This is a common misconception and causes new dancers much grief.

If your teacher is teaching you to spin, ask them how to spot. It should be part of the same lesson.

Spinning is something that causes much loss of balance and should be a figure that you aspire to when you have a little more experience.

Ballroom or Latin should never be landed heavily.

IMO the whole criteria of a successful ballroom or latin dancer is to perform various gymnastic feats without any apparent effort. The only way this can be achieved is by using powerful leg muscles to provide impulsion and also to act as shock absorbers to avoid heavy impact with the floor.

A good way of explaining this is to watch Flavia and Vincent and see how effortlessly he lifts her. The truth is that Flavia provides most of the lift (from her legs) and Vincent stabilises her and acts as a secure platform.

At this level of dancing, the performance is about 95% illusion and 5% fact. This where good choreographers earn their money, producing a routine that will stun by appearance but is achievable by combined athletic abilities

Pro dancers work out in gyms to achieve suppleness and fitness.

Do you need to be strong to do the lifts? I'm no Kenny Logan, I'm afraid!

STBDDJ, thanks for answering my question - it was really helpful

No doubt being strong can help but technique is more important - I teach acrobatic rock and roll which has a lot of lifts in and in my junior couples it is about teaching them a) how to lift and b) how to be lifted. The person lifting being taught the correct way to position their bodies and how to take the person up throught their legs (mainly). The person being lifted has a great part to play using their own strength to raise up into the lift with the lifter providing the support and balance to the overall affect

Am frankly mystified that if you have just started ballroom and latin that you are doing spinning and as others have said cant think of anything other than american spin that a relative beginer would do.

Spotting turns should definitely be taught by your teacher

Many thanks STDBBJ,
but oh dear, magic now blown.

*BUMP*

Because this is one of the best threads.

What are everyone's dancing goals for 2008 (dancers and potential dancers)?

I'm starting ballroom/latin in January as a complete beginner (gulp...),and I'm really looking forward to it!

I'm going to be aiming at the following:

1) To be able to not fall over for the whole of a lesson

2) To be able to conquer some steps

3) To be able to put together some sort of sequence of said steps (maybe not into any particular type of dance though... )

4) To persist with dancing even though I might be c*ap and try to work towards medals at some time in the distant future.

5) If all 4 of the above get ticked, to treat myself to some private lessons with Dance-Master Cutler (if he hasn't retired by then....)

By the way, you're right, this is one of the most interesting threads!!!!

1. Bronze latin
2. Bronze standard in all 10 dances
3. To accept the lead. Really want to be able to follow my partner freestyle rather than my 'routine'. Dance teacher said he would end each lesson with some 'freestyle' Also decided to continue with the salsa and re-start the Argentine Tango - will use these dances to continue my education.

To master the foxtrot and not tear my hair out over it
To improve my ballroom technique and learn some new figures

Sorry, not in line with the previous question, but someone here (bendymixer I think) said cha-cha and waltz are the easiest dances to learn and that's why the men start with it. Comparatively speaking then, how hard is rumba and quickstep?

I find the biggest problem with rumba is the control required. Because there are 4 beats but you only move on 3 you need to really have control and balance. Apart from that it's easier to learn after cha-cha as many of the movements are similar.

Quickstep I haven't done too much on so I can't really answer but I find it relatively easy, it's just the speed that some people in my class find difficult.

I always danced in 3 inch heels without problems, any higher though and I got bad posture. It's true that too high heels can affect a dancers centre of gravity, as they pitch you forward and you end up leaning back to compensate.

There is no optimum heel height, it's just what you feel comfortable in. Also if you have a high instep certain heel heights can make your foot look odd, so it's best to try out a variety of heights to find what's best for you.

Since Letitia neither complained of backache nor looked as if she was leaning back, I think it was just poor posture rather than the heel height.

Darren would definitely have checked her heels!

Emily, are you familiar with Kenny and Marion Welsh? You might find they way she teaches Rumba beneficial in terms of controlling your movement between beats 4 and 1.

She tells you that Rumba has 8 beats per bar and counts them as "2-a-3-a-4-a-1-a" and that the body must move on all of those beats. When you try it that way you really begin to think about your movements.

I went to a beginners' class where the QS steps were introduced as the social foxtrot. Then when you get used to them, they can be speed up to make the QS.

(One of my SCD wishes is for them to call the dance the Slow Foxtrot, instead of just the Foxtrot, as when I first learnt, I got confused!)

Same with us actually. That's probably why I've found it fairly ok.

Thanks Thess, I'll try thinking of it like that. My biggest problem is always my balance, no matter what dance I do.

hi everyone!

my dancing goal is to be able to dance the tango well enough to dance it in a square in Buenos Aires when I go there at the end of next year.

Also, to really be confident in the basic steps of all the Latin and Ballroom dances (I go to classes and started in February this year so am very much a beginner still!)

Thank you to Thess for the advice on the rhumba - counting the beats like that really makes a difference........I tried it and it completely improves things! thank you x